WNIT offices a loss

Two firefighters injured battling blaze.

Two firefighters injured battling blaze.

January 12, 2009|By KELLI CHEATHAM WSBT-TV

ELKHART -- Firefighters battled a large fire at the offices of WNIT-TV Sunday afternoon. The fire burned the station's administrative offices, in the 2300 block of Charger Boulevard, but it did not affect the station's broadcasting facility. "It's a sad day for WNIT," said president and general manager Mary Pruess. When Pruess saw the devastation the two-alarm fire left behind, she also knew the station's programming, business and development offices, as well as administrative records, were likely destroyed. "We're all gonna have to get together and figure out how to put it back together," she said. Two Elkhart firefighters were hurt while fighting the fire. One fell through the floor on the inside of the building. He was back at work Sunday night. The other twisted his ankle on his way out of the building. He'll be off work for a little while because of that injury. The fire did not interrupt WNIT's Sunday broadcast because the studio and control room are in a separate building nearby. That's where Pruess and the non-profit organization's board president notified employees, stakeholders and insurance companies about the loss. The fire isn't the only thing WNIT is dealing with. Just last week, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed to cut state funding to public television to zero dollars because of the state's budget problems. "It's a significant amount of money. If we weren't to have it then our services would be definitely affected," Pruess said. WNIT has provided educational public television in our area for more than 40 years. The station recently took over the former WSBT building in downtown South Bend, but hadn't planned to move to that building for another year while it's renovated. "This is the age of digital television and that building, it's a great building, but it was built for analog television," she said. As the station figures out its next step, WNIT will continue to broadcast all the programs and schedules as planned. More than 20 people worked in the building. They'll relocate to a building across the parking lot. Firefighters say no one was working when the fire broke out. Investigators have not determined a cause, but firefighters say it apparently started near the center of the building, which was valued at $200,000. Fire investigators say the fire was difficult to bring under control because it involved three connecting modular buildings. The fire was initially called in as a brush fire, which also delayed the full fleet response. Tribune staff photographer Marcus Marter contributed to this report.